HOME OF BULLDOG MEN'S SOCCER - 1967, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 SCIAC Champions

University of Redlands men’s soccer senior forward Ross Schunk (Portland, OR) was selected as the only NCAA Division III student-athlete to compete in the three-day Major League Soccer (MLS) Player Combine in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, according to an announcement by Redlands Head Coach Ralph Perez.

The combine, which features approximately 70 collegiate student-athletes, takes place on Saturday, Sunday and Tuesday and will culminate with the MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 15 in St. Louis, MO, at the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Convention.

“This is a great opportunity, and it says a lot about the success of our program for Ross to be selected as a part of this,” Perez said. “He is competing against mainly Division I athletes.”

Participants in the combine were chosen through a selection process that involved a panel of MLS coaches, according to Perez.

Schunk will compete on the adidas Tiro team in the combine, which includes 17 players, including the student-athlete who scored the game-winning goal in the NCAA Division I National Championship match, Maryland's Graham Zusi.

As a Bulldog student-athlete, Schunk set the career program record for goals (63) and points (139) while garnering three First-Team All-Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC) honors, two SCIAC Player of the Year awards, two College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA)/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District recognitions, three NSCAA/adidas® All-Far West Region laurels and two NSCAA/adidas® All-America nominations.

The MLS SuperDraft consists of four rounds with 20 picks in each round. The Seattle Sounders FC has the first pick in the 2009 draft.

Adam Acosta ’05 is the only Redlands men’s soccer player thus far to compete in MLS. He was initially signed by Real Salt Lake in 2006.

For more information on the MLS SuperDraft, please visit http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090105&content_id=210625&vkey=pr_mls&fext=.jsp.